The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s fleet of cars — old and new, alike — saw their performance tank from a brutal life on the rails.
The subway environment is so unforgiving, even some of the shiny, technologically souped-up trains in the MTA’s “New Millennium” fleet trail older, sturdier models in their performance.
“They don’t look like they were designed to run underground,” said Joe Campbell, a car inspector for the last 27 years. “I believe they’re really being put through the ringer and it shows.”
NYC Transit’s New Millennium trains — 56% of the agency’s 6,418-car fleet that hit tracks since 2000 — actually saw their performance drop further since 2011 than the older, sturdier models, even though they haven’t even spent two decades on the tracks.
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The R143 cars from Kawasaki that travel the demanding L line took such a pounding that their performance dropped 64% since 2011.
With the Manhattan skyline in the background, some of the new model subway cars on the F line as the train approaches the Smith-9th Street station.
(JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)They now travel fewer miles before a breakdown than train cars from the 1970s, manufactured by the famed Pullman-Standard company, that run on the A, F and R lines.
Even the newest model to hit the subway tracks — the R188 from Kawasaki that debuted in 2013 and rides the No. 7 line — had a tough start.
When brand-new, the R188 trains’ distance between failures was impressive — 589,022 miles.
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But a year later, the cars’ performance plunged 46%, to about 316,000 miles. Its performance recovered to 476,000 miles a year later.
Old and new subway cars at the NYC Transit Coney Island Rapid Transit Car Overhaul Shop.
(JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)The cars from one of the MTA’s largest purchase — the R160 from French-car maker Alstom and Kawasaki, which run on nine lines — suffered huge performance declines. The average mileage before a breakdown plunged 62% between 2011 and 2016.
Cars with electric components have problems early in their life cycles and issues with the car makers’ workmanship are discovered, according to MTA spokeswoman Beth DeFalco. The manufacturer addresses the problems immediately — routine for new cars that must be tailored to the subway’s infrastructure, she said.
Frank Jezycki, a Department of Subways exec and chief mechanical officer for the car equipment division, said age is only a factor in how well a train car can run without a breakdown.
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“It’s the duty — it’s what environment that those cars are operating in that has a lot to do with the reliability,” he said. “Some of the components may be more robust from an older design.”
Interior of one of the new model subway cars on the F line.
(JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)Reps for Alstom and another subway train maker, Bombardier, declined to comment or answer questions from the Daily News. Kawasaki did not respond to requests for comment.
To keep the cars in good shape, the MTA inspects them every 12,000 miles, or roughly 70 days, though trains on the busiest and heaviest lines come in more frequently. Those inspections can take anywhere from eight to 24 hours for a single train set.
Overall last year, MTA workers inspected about 140 cars a day across 13 facilities.
A common culprit for problems — the doors.
NYC Transit’s New Millennium trains actually saw their performance drop further since 2011 than the older, sturdier models,
(JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)They open and close about 7 million times a day. The abuse they take results in three of the eight train car failures in the subway system each day, according to the MTA.
The agency has an overhaul cycle for train cars every four, seven and 14 years. This year, nearly 1,000 cars will get a top-to-bottom repair job, according to the MTA.
At the Coney Island shop one weekday morning, an old R46 car built in the 1970s was laid up for a complete rebuild.
Two sets of yellow metal clamps hugged the silver body of the 40-ton car and hoisted it high into the air to place it down on a trestle, leaving the undercarriage behind.
Overall, the 6,418-car fleet ran 115,154 miles on average before a breakdown over a 12-month period ending in March, a 32% drop compared to 2011.
(JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)That undercarriage will be stripped of its major parts — wheels, axles, gear cases and electric 600-volt motors — which will be rebuilt and replaced. The car body will get the same treatment during a three-week process.
“An R46 that’s 30-some-odd years old or 40 years old, to obtain the parts and the quantities that we need, we need to plan that well in advance,” Jezycki said.
That planning takes place two years before the model comes into the overhaul shop. The MTA’s engineer and maintenance teams will bring a couple of sample cars to the shop to see what parts get worn down and what needs to be replaced.
Overall, the fleet’s nearly 6,500 cars ran 115,154 miles on average before a breakdown over a 12-month period ending in March, a 32% drop compared with 2011, when train cars could travel 170,410 miles before an equipment malfunction, according to a review of the MTA’s public statistics.
Riders, meanwhile, suffered through 3,295 delays attributed to car equipment problems in March, more than double the 1,236 delays from car equipment problems in March 2012. On average, 4% of the fleet is held up because of a mechanical problem, according to the MTA.
Even as its fleet ages, the MTA still keeps the old clunkers around.
Cars that debuted during the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens can’t retire because of a delay in Bombardier’s delivery of 300 cars, called R179, which should have been carrying passengers as of January. The MTA last week said the full order will be arriving by September 2018.
The agency also needs to maintain its supply of cars to boost subway service when the L train tunnel closes in 2019.
Tags: MTA